In graphical processing and other processing domains, programs are often required to operate on a large collection of data points, including such collections as an image or an audio file. Frequently, such programs may advantageously be structured as a sequence of actions, each of which may be performed simultaneously on all data points in the collection.
One type of processing system designed to support such programs is referred to as a Single Instruction, Multiple Data, (SIMD) system. A SIMD system provides a plurality of processors, each of which applies the instructions of the program to a single data point. In hardware, subsets of the plurality of processors may be implemented as multiprocessing units (MPUs).